China has told Nepal’s Tarai leadership, agitating for greater rights in the constitution, that Beijing is not ‘anti-Madhesi’ and believes that for a stable Nepal, Madhesis have to accommodated in a political settlement. It has also told them that burning a China flag does not make anyone ‘pro-India’, just as

publicly claiming China step into to compete with India in Nepal does not make anyone ‘pro-China’

. It has conveyed to Madhesi leaders India and China are in touch on Nepal ......... Beijing was concerned about the burning of a China flag during the ongoing Madhesi agitation in Nepal’s southern plains. The Madhesi parties had condemned the incident, distancing themselves from it....... “They told us China is not anti-Madhesi, just as Madhes is not anti-China. They added that while China does not speak on Nepal’s internal affairs, it wants a peaceful and stable Nepal, and for a stable Nepal, Madhes has to be accommodated” ...... by burning a Chinese flag, no one becomes ‘pro India’, just as by saying China will replace India in Nepal, as some in Kathmandu have suggested, no one becomes ‘pro China’. ......

India and China had close ties, and had even been in touch at various levels.

They even joked that in Kathmandu, Chinese diplomats have told Indian diplomats they may need their help to get fuel for the embassy.